An evaluation of value based dispatching rules in a flow shop

Although investment in inventory has been of primary concern in job shops, little attention has been paid to using value-based dispatching rules in an effort to attain satisfactory on-time performance while reducing inventory investment. This paper compares performance based on both time and value measures of three usual time-based rules with six rules which directly incorporate value information in setting priorities. The results indicate that the value-based rules perform their intended function quite well with only slight sacrifice in on-time performance in light to moderately loaded shops. In addition, some of these values rules outperform the best time-based rules on both dimensions in heavily loaded shops.